Duke Hospital, InterGom
Page 5
From
The
Auxiliary
l^y Dorothy Sieker
The Women’s Auxiliary was able to
close its books for 1958 with a definite
sense of achievement. December 1st
marked the “Grand Openinf?” of its
new office and coffee counter. Moving
supplies and equipment was a job,
but we have some very able ‘ ‘ movers
in our "rouj) . . . and they don’t
charfje over-time for working holi
days! Mr. David Henry of the Reha
bilitation Department helped make
the o])ening a gala occasion by send
ing baby nnim corsages for each vol
unteer working in the new head(iuai’-
ters.
With the files in order, we did some
checking, just for fun, to see how 1058
really “checked out.”
Did you know our volunteers (with
approximately 200 reporting) re
corded 26,220 hours in ’58?
The Coffee Counter serves between
1500 and 1800 cu])s of coffee on an
average day. This does not include
the many thermos bottles of coffee
sent up to the wards almost daily for
patients and their families.
The Book Cart checks out 40 to 50
books each week. With many best
sellers oil the cart, its popularity is
growing steadily.
The Magazine Cart distributes
about 200 magazines a week. It is
stocked with “used” but recent maga
zines donated by hosjiital staff, auxili
ary members, and interested persons
in the community.
The Children’s Service purchased
and distributed 50 Christmas sto(‘k-
ings and gifts.
These are random figures that rec
ords can be kept on. But don’t for
get the many hard-to-write-down
services and our many “uiisung’
volunteers:
!
(Duke Photo by Sparks)
Snack Bar in Auxiliary’s new quarters feeds the hungry.
The Occuj)ational Therapy group
has collected bulging shopping bags
full of discarded nylons, old kitchen
utensils, and other items used for
craft work in the patients’ rehabilita
tion i)rogram.
The Shop (’art not only sells from
its regular supply, but has “sent out”
for such items as valentines, birthday
))resents, and a special razor for a
patient who would otherwise have left
Duke looking a little shaggy. IMany
of the Shop Cart volunteers helped
Santa this year and took time from
their own busy schedules to do spe
cial shopj)ing for patients.
Remember the Country Fair and
Carnival, staged by the Ways and
Means Committee, with fun and frolic
and even sunshine for all.
And don’t forget the Guides and
Receptionists. Probably the best good
will ambassadors of the Auxiliary,
these volunteers have walked countless
miles through the hospital directing
patients to clinics.
I suppose the one service in the
Auxiliary that needs no facts or fig
ures to prove its worth is the group
that serves with Mr. I*. W. Aitken,
Chaplain to the Medical ('enter.
There are twelve regular volunteers
on the Chaplain’s Service who are on
a 2-t-hour call list. The Medical
Dames and the Divinity Dames also
give their time to this service. These
volunteers do provide something no
money can buy: reassurance to a
family, the writing of a letter, or just
timely droppiiig-in to visit a i)atient.
All this fact finding points back to
the main puri)Ose of the Women s
Auxiliary: to ease the strain of hos
pitalization for ])atients and their
families and to foster an ever-growing
fund of goodwill to be shared by all
who come in contact with Duke iledi-
cal Center.
* * * * *
The Auxiliary held a membership
meeting February 8 in the Ambula
tory Dining Room of the lIos])ital.
Guest speaker was Charles A. Speed,
Safety Director, State Highway Pa
trol. Major Speed discussed Highway
Driving and Safety. Husbands of
Auxiliary members were special guests
for the evening.